sherman



(No Model.) 3 sheets-sheet .1. W. -B. SHERMAN, Deod.

M. E. & c. G. F mn, Administratbrs.

RAILROAD SIGNAL. No. 381,086. 5 1 Patented Apr. '10, 1888;

N FnEnsjPhumL-mu mn Wiuhlnglnn. me.

(No Model.) 7 3 Sheets.$he et 2, I W; B. SHERMAN, Decd.

M. E. & C. G. FOLAND, Administrators.

. I j RAILROAD SIGNAL. 7 I No. 381,086. Pgdtented Apr. 10, 1888,

WITNESSES: I

N. PEYERS. Plgobulmgnpher Washinglan. (10.

3 Sheets-Sheet 3. r

(No Model.) A

W. B. SHERMAN, Decd.

M. E. & 0. e. FoLANb, Administrators. RAILROAD SIGNAL. No. 381.086.Patented Apr. 10, 1888.

I UNITED" STATES p PATE T OFFI E I WARDELL B. SHERMAN, OF ONEIDA, NEWYORK, MARION E. FOLANDAND Q CHARLES G. FOLAND ADMINISTRATOBS [OF SAIDSHERMAN DEOEASED.

RAILROAD-SIGNAL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 'aaroasjaatea April 10.1888.,

To all whom it may coficern:

Be it known that I, WARDELL B. summit,

' of Oneida, in the county of Madison, in the State of the same.

line a: :0, Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a longitudinal secof New York, haveinvented new and useful Improvements in Railroad-Signals, of which thefollowing, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is afull, clear, and extion of the counter-shaft with its appurtenances.Fig. 5 is an enlarged longitudinal section of the shaft which'transmitsmotion' from the spiral to the counter-shaft, and Fig. 6 is a detachedside view of the clock-work. 1

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

It represents one of the rails of a railroadtrack, along the outersideof which and axially parallel therewith is a spirally flanged shaft,A, pivoted at opposite ends insuitable supports, S S. Said spiral is insufficient proximity to the top of the rail R to receive along the edgeadjacent to the rail the pressure of the car-wheels passing over saidrail,

and the movement of said pressure from end to'end of the spiral causesthe same to rotate on its axis. Axially in line with the spiral A,

and extending from one end thereof, is'a shaft,

D, which is prevented from rotating, and is arranged movablelongitudinally and crowded toward the spiral by means of a spring, I),

' pressing against the end of said'shaft.

On the shaft D is pivoted a pinion, O, which is provided with aclutch-face, 0, adapted toengage a clutch-face, 'c,'secured to thespiral shaft A,

as bestseen inFigoof the drawings.

At one side of the shaft .D, and parallel therewith, is a counter-shaft,B, journaled in suitable'bearings secured to standards m m.

To this counter-shaft are rigidly secured a 5 ApplicationfiledApri111.1B87. SerialNo.234,357. (No model.)

drum, H, and a ratchet-wheel, e, 'and'onv the Q 'hub of the latter isloosely mounted a gear-v 7 wheel, F, which meshes inthe pinion O. f By,-means of a pawl, f, connected'with th'e wheel Fand engaging theratchet-wheel e, motion is transmitted from the spiral shaft Ato thecounter-shaftB when the clutch c c is in engagement and a car or englnemoves over the rail R in the, direction indicated by an arrow in Fig. 1of the drawings.

Back of the drum II-"s another drun1,.H, mounted loosely on thecounter-shaft, so as to allow it to slide/longitudinally thereon. It iscompelled tov rotate zsynchronously with the drum H by means of asl'iding'couplingcon- V sisting of a pin, 13, projecting from the end ofthe drum H and intoa prolonged channel, Z,

in the, adjacent endof the drum H, as shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings.At the rear end of the drumHthe counter-shaft B isprovided v with ascrew-threaded portion, B, on. which I I works a nut, I, which iscoupled to the drum H by an undercut flange, n, on thegnutinten' lookingwith a flanged projection, n, on the drawings.

' By means of an arm, N, projecting from the nutI and sliding on theshaft l), the nut is prevented from turning, and thus said nut is.caused to travel longitudinally on the counter I shaft when the, latteris rotated. "Iothe shaft 1) are rigidly secured two shoulders, la a,between whichthe arm N moves. during the travel of the not I. By thecollision ofthe said arm with the rear shoulder, a; the shaft D iscrowded back in opposition to the spring I), and thus the clutch-face .oof the pinion O. is drawn out of engagement with the clutchfaces of thespiral shaft A. To the supporting-standard of the rear end of theshaft Dis secured a spring-catch, d, which is adapted to engage the shoulder aof the aforesaid-shaft when pressed back in the manner aforesaid;

To the arm 'N is secured a tripper-arm,. t,

which lies under'the catch d, and in the movement of the nut I towardthe spiral A' said ment with the shouldera, and thus releases the. shaftD and allows the same to be presse 'tripper-arm lifts theca'tch (1 outof engagetoward the spiral, so as to cause the clutchface 0 to engagethe clutch-face c by the pressend of the drum H, as shown in Fig. 4. of;the 7 ure of the spring b on the rear end of said shaft. 7

Back of the screw-threaded portion B of the countershaft is a spiralspring, k, which presses on the back of the nut I, so as to prevent thesame from losing its hold on the screw-threaded portion B of thecounter-shaft.

On the two drums H and H are wound, respectively, the ropes or chains hand g in one and the same direction. The rope or chain h passes over apulley, U, mounted on an elevated support, and to the free end of saidrope or chain is secured a weight, V, for the purpose hereinafterexplained. The rope or chain 9 passes over suitable guiding-sheaves, pp, and a drum, 0, upon which latter it is wound and secured. Theshaft ofsaid drum is journaled in a suitable frame, L, on which latter ismounted a suitable clock-work, consisting, chiefly, of a spur-wheel, w,attached to the shaft of the drum- 0. A spring-restrained bell-hammer,j, is arranged to be actuated by the aforesaid spur-wheel, and a bell,M, arranged in position to be struck by the aforesaid hammer. Anotherdrum, 0, is secured to the shaft of the drum O,and has a rope, g, woundupon it in the opposite direction from the winding of the rope g on thedrum 0, and to the free end of the rope g is attached a weight, V. Inorder to render the motion of the aforesaid clock-work moreuniform,ashaft, 1, is arranged parallel with the shaft of the drum 0 O,and has secured to it a pinion, 2, which meshes in the spur wheel w.Another spur-wheel, w, is secured to the shaft 1 and meshes in thepinion 3, secured to a shaft, 4, which is parallel with the other shaftsand has aflixed to it the fan 5. Similar governing devices may beconnected with the gear-wheel F, hereinbefore described, as illustratedin Fig. 1 of the drawings, wherein 6 denotes a pinion mounted on theshaft 7, which is parallel with the counter-shaft B, and has rigidlysecured to it the spur-wheel F. The pinion 6, meshing in the gear-wheelF, transmits motion to the shaft 7. The spur-wheel F meshes in thepinion 8, secured to the shaft 9, which has also secured to it the fan10.

Inasmuch as in many cases the signal or alarm is located from a fifth ofa mile to a mile or more from the track-instrument or spiral A, and therope g is required to be maintained at a uniform tension, I connect tosaid rope at proper intervals ropes 2', running oversheaves Z, andhaving connected to their free ends weights 1;, as illustratedin Fig. 2of the drawings.

The operation of my invention is as follows: As a car or engine passesover the rail R in the direction indicated by an arrow in Fig. 1 of thedrawings, the pressure of the wheels upon the edge of the spiral Aimparts rotary motion to the same. The clutch-faces c a, being normallyin engagement with each other, cause the pinion G to partake rotarymotion from the spiral A, and the gear-wheel F transmits motion from thepinion O to the counter-shaft B. During the rotation of the latter thescrewt-hreaded portion B thereof causes the nut I to travel toward therear end of the shaft B and draw with it the drum H. The two drums H Hreceiving simultaneously rotary n1ot1on, causes the two ropes g and h tobe wound upon said drums, the rope h drawing up the weight V, while therope gimparts rotary motion to the drum 0 and causes the rope g to bewound upon the drum 0. As the nutI recedes from the screw-threadedportion P of the counter-shaft B, the arm N encounters the shoulder a,and thereby pushes the shaftD in opposition to the spring b. The catchd, hooking onto the shoulder (1, serves to retain the shaft D in itsretracted position, and by the aforesaid movement of the shaft D theclutchface cis thrown out of engagement with the clutch-face 0, thusliberating the pinion O and allowing the counter-shaft B, with the drumsH H, to be rotated by the draft on the ropes g and h produced by theweights V and V. During this latter motion the spur-wheel w of the clockwork actuates the bell-hammer j and causes the same to strike thebell, and thus sound the alarm. During this reverse movement of thecounter-shaft B the nutI is caused to travel toward the drum H, and bymeans of the arm N and tripper t, connected therewith, the catch d isthrown out of engagement with the shoulder a. The shaftD, being thusreleased from the catch d, is then forced toward the spiral A by thespring b, and thus the clutch-faces c and c are thrown into engagementand ready again to transmit motion from the spiral A to thecounter-shaft B by a car or engine passing over the rail R in thedirection indicated by an arrow in Fig. 1 of the drawings.

Having described myinvention,what I claim as new, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, 1s

' 1. The combination of a spirallyflanged shaft pivoted at the side ofthe railway-track and axially parallel therewith, a pivotedcounter-shaft, gears transmitting motion from the flanged shaft to thecounter-shaft, a drum on the counter-shaft, signaling mechanism providedwith actuating-drums, and a driving cord or chain connecting said drums,as set forth. V

2. In combination with the spiral A, a. pin ion arranged rotatableindependent of said spiral, a clutch adapted to connect and disconnectsaid pinion and spiral,a counter'shaft, a gear on the counter-shaftengaging the pinion, a pulley or drum mounted loosely on said shaft,screw-threads on a portion of thelength of the counter-shaft, a nutworking on said screw-threaded portion and coupled with the aforesaidpulley or drum, and an arm projecting from the nut and adapted to shiftthe aforesaid clutch, as and for the purpose set forth.

3. In combination with the spiral A, the shaft D, movable longitudinallyand provided I to said shaft, the gear-wheel F, mounted looselyconnected with the shaft D and adapted to with the shoulders a a, thepinion O, mounted loosely on said shaft, clutch-faces a c, respectively,on the pinion and spiral shaft,the spring I), arranged to force theshaft D toward. the spiral, the catch d, adapted to engage the shoulderill, the counter-shaft B,provided with the screwthreaded portion B, theratchet-wheel O, fixed onthe counter-shaft and meshingin the pinion O,the pawl f on said gear-wheel, the drum H,

rigid on the counter-shaft, the drurirH, loose on said shaft, alongitudinally-sliding coup ling between said .drums, the nut I, workingon the screw-threadedportion of thecounter-. shaft and coupled withthe-loose drum, the arm N, projecting from the nut and movably encountertheshoulder a, and the tripper t, connected with the arm N and adaptedto trip the catch d, substantiallyas described and shown a 1 I 4; Incombination, with the spiral A, counter-shaft B, drum H, and mechanismfor transmitting motion from the spiral to the countershaft, signal oralarm mechanism, clock-work arranged tooperate said signal or alarmmechanism, the drums O 0, connected to said clock-work, the rope orchain g, connected at opposite ends with the'drums H and O,the

rope-g', connected to the drum 0,-and the weight V, connectedto saidrope, substan-l tially as hand for the purpose set forth.

7 5. In combination with the spiral A, counter-shaft B, drums'HHQnndmechanism for 7 5 I transmitting motion from the spiral to the countershaft, a signal mechanism, clock-work arrangedfto operate said signalmechanism,

the drums O and 0, connected to said clock- -work, the rope or chain 9,connected with the ,7

drums H'and O, the rope 9, connected to the drum O, the weighty,attached to the free end of said rope, the pulley U, the rope or I-chain h, connected to the drum-H and runn ng I over the pulley'U, andthe weight V, attached s 45 to the free end'of the rope or chain h,substantially asde'scribed andshown. V In testimony whereoflhavehereunto slgne my name and affixed my seal, in theprese nceof-two'attesting witnesses, at Syracuse, in the r I

